trek

youth conference is summer is a TREK!! for those of you that may not know what a trek is, it is a three to four day journey pulling a handcart about 4-5 miles everyday. by hand. in the middle of June. dressed as pioneers (aka those in the c. 1850’s).  near Pickett State Park.

for those of you, again, who don’t know what Pickett State Park is like, it is full of bugs and the humidity levels are atrocious. the dress is going to be exciting, but its also a lot of layering. in humidity. it definitely is going to be a challenge to keep hydrated. I hope we can bring a jug or something… because heat exhaustion really isn't on my list of things to learn about this year at youth conference.

but I am super excited about this trek. its going to be AWESOME!!! sleeping underneath the stars, acting like a Saint for a couple of days, spending time with some awesome people and of course strengthening my testimony. who wouldn’t love an experience like that?

school

since school got back in, life has been pretty darn good. really nothing to complain about except for the fact that get used to having minimal homework is tough to get used to. just saying hahaha i know every one else is swimming in homework, but that was me last semester. this semester is my easy one. that could be a blessing and a curse. i could get really lazy and get fat, or i could take this extra time as a time to get in shape for youth conference (its trek!!).

decisions, decisions...

my dress

this is my dress. I wore it last Friday and got loads of compliments. I absolutely love the thing. the pockets are amazing cuz you don’t have to carry around your phone in your hand of jacket! ahahaha I think I might make a floor length one with contrasting colors like the other floor length dress I have… hmmm next time we go to joanns, that’s what im getting! haha :)

this is just a new picture of me. I figured its been awhile since I put a picture of me on my blog…

resources

so this morning, I was messing around on my dashboard for my blog. I was clicking through the little tab called “stats” and I found out that my blog has been viewed in some countries that I have no connections to at all: germany, france, etc. it was so creepy. I immediately changed my settings so that im not a listed blog on Blogger and search engines cant find me. just because its unnerving to be able to be found on the internet by foreigners. in countries halfway across the world. its unnerving. I definitely suggest looking at that and changing your settings.

it gave me peace of mind at least.

summer plans smashed

this morning i took my turn at the orthodontist for the first time in a long time. the last time I had orthodontic work done was at our sing a long last month, but the last time I was actually in the office, has been at least four months or so. and the last time I had an x-ray was when I first went to the orthodontist. so its been about four years or so. my teeth do look so much better now that they are all pretty and straight thanks to Dr. Langford. but he delivered so not so pleasant news when we took an x-ray today.

 

I have to get my wisdom teeth out some time with summer. ugh…

bye bye a week of my life. I get to have all three of my wisdom teeth removed before I ruin my beautiful smile. I have always been skeptical about being put under. its scary not being coherent for moments of my precious life. the thought has just always scared me. but unfortunately its inevitable right now. im scared.

stake activities

are my favorite. so many great youth together in one place having good clean fun. the highlight of my month. today was the monthly activity and it was so much fun! :) we played some awesome games and then had a really nice presentation about dancing and music. we played the human knot, Pictionary, charades, what are you doing?, and a knot exercise. it was a lot of fun.

my partner for the knot exercise was a boy scout so he knew his knots and they were tight too! I had to wring my hands out of it because I couldn’t get it undone. (way to go!!)

human knot was so much fun! we had 16 people in one modge podge and we only had to make two adjustments with the help of a leader. we got 10 minutes and we used all but about 2 seconds. it was really fun and definitely a great group game. :)

“fine dining”

so my parents surprised us last night with a trip to Pizza Hut. like sitting in the restaurant and actually eating the pizza there. my mom and dad refused to tell us WHERE we were going, just that we needed to put shoes and a coat on and get into the car. one of my sisters thought we were going out some place nice, so she actually like reapplied makeup and dressed up. it was pretty funny to see the look on her face when we pulled into the Pizza Hut parking lot. she said “ugh! pizza hut?! I thought we were going some place nice!” so my parents continued to give her a hard time and tell there that “we never said we were going to go fine dine, just that you needed to put shoes on and a coat and get into the car.” it was pretty funny.

we got two large pizzas and actually ate all but three slices I believe. but o it was sooooo delicious. apparently jet’s pizza is better (according to a trusted source), but ive never been there so I will have to say that pizza hut is better until I have tasted this pizza… my knowledge of the hut’s amazing pizza comes from tasting domino’s, pizza hut, snappy tomatoes, and papa johns. dominos is way too greasy, snappy tomatoes doesn’t have any crust, and papa johns crusts are too rough (like its impossible to pull apart). pizza hut, not so much. they have made a happy customer out of me :-)

childhood memories #4

so we don’t have school again today. so we are watching PBS and that means watching Barney and the rip off of Blue’s Clues, Super Why!  Of course im not excited about watching PBS, but that’s all that’s on!!  and of course watching Super Why makes me reminisce about sitting and watching endless hours of Blue’s Clues. I love watching Barney and I miss watching the quality TV that used to be on. TV now is not as it used to be when I was little.

I love Barney and Blue’s Clues. not this Joe version, the Steve episodes. those are the best!!!  but of course the time has come and gone for us to watch those episodes and the rotation as ended for those episodes. now we have to watch the other STUFF that’s on now.

o well. my childhood is over now… time for hannah and spencer to enjoy their childhood.

sewing project #3

this is my newest sewing project. i started and finished it in the past two days. i did most of it myself, with the exception of the gathering. my mom gathered and pinned the skirt graciously. (thanks mom!) other than that i did everything else by myself. i put the side zipper, the pockets, the hook and eye and the hem in by myself. the pattern is roses, with brown centers. it doesn't look like it the picture, but its pink.

i am super excited about it. i just have to figure out what to wear it with. find a pink shirt to match? or find brown leggings and wear it with a brown shirt? or just wear it with a white shirt?? these are my questions. but im excited about it none the less. another sewing project that i did all by myself with a little help from my mom.

im super excited about the fact that i did the zipper once and it worked with a minor adjustment at the top. first timers luck my mom says. or maybe its just the way that the pattern had you put the zipper in. i don't know.

snow!

so it snowed. again. for like the bajillionth time in the last month. we got out of school yesterday because there was four inches of snow on the ground, and today for the fear of icy secondary roads as well as a new layer of powder on top of yesterdays snow. i was soo excited. sleeping in and being able to bundle up warm while drinking some hot chocolate was amazing! i also got the chance to start and complete a sewing project. i am so excited about it!! (pics to come) we still dont have snow things for me to go out and play in, so i sat inside with my mom and sewed. i know i know, what a bum. but i really didnt have a whole lot of choices.

we just found out that we are having school tomorrow and im excited and sad. excited because i can see all my friends and have something to do again. sad because i want to try and find some more fabric to make something else. maybe cross something off the "i need for college" list. i guess that is just going to have to wait until another day becomes clear.

prince charming and his various princesses

throughout time, prince charming has been the hero in countless princess stories. he comes riding in on his magnificient and gorgeous horse, saves the day, and then the once distraught girl and her true love ride off into the sunset. recently i have been talking to a certain young man, and he has recently been sending me off to bed with a "good night princess" and "sweet dreams". isnt that adorable!? he is so kind and he really seems to understand me, and he compliments me even when he cant see me. he tells me im beautiful even when he knows that im wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. how sweet!

one day when i first started talking to him (via text, its cheaper that way) he made a comment about "the one"... saying something about how if there really is a girl out there for him, who is she?, do i know her?, do i see her everyday but just look right over her and not notice her? i thought that it was very thought provoking.

is there a person that really will complete you?
does it happen spontaneously like it does in Snow White, Aladdin, Cinderella, and The Little Mermaid?
or does it take time like it does in Beauty and the Beast?
is there a catharsis?
or does it just suddenly click?
are there really sparks?
is there anything about the love stories you read about in books true?
can the first one you fall in love with be the only one?

just some curious questions that i have for myself... thought id ask you guys for advice to these questions...

the real answer for me wont come until im much older and happily married. until then they are just sitting there in the back of my mind waiting for answers.

christmas and the new year

christmas was a success and a fairly small ordeal this year. my parents have been budgetting for the house so the gifts were small but homemade. the only really super big gifts given this year were the trampoline that my grandparents "bought" for us (they sent us a check and we bought it with the deposit) and my dad's router that santa got for him. the family got like 6 new movies (3 of them that we watched before lunch time!), two new games and then of course the trampoline. i got some new gloves, some waterproof playing cards (ive been asking for them for like ever!), the first three Percy Jackson books (rachel got the last two), a new wallet, a handy case for my Walkman, a rifle for colorguard (im soo excited!!!), and then an umbrella. but the umbrella has a story:

opened my gift from santa and was excited, my OWN umbrella, but then i was prompted to open the umbrella upside down. turned out that santa made it rain money! in between each individual prong, was a five dollar bill. so if you counted thats five prongs, so ten bills x five bucks = $50!! yep, i was allowed 50 dollars to go and spend on clothes that were badlly wanted and needed, mind you. monday i went and shopped the after christmas sales with rachel and i purchased a waist belt, a flowly sweater, and two new pairs of jeans (thank you old navy and jcpenney's!!) after our excursion, i then went to oldnavy.com and spent an addition 30 dollars on some fashionable scarves that were not in the store. they arrived thursday afternoon which is impressive seeing how i got the cheapest shipping (5-7 days). rachel was a little upset because she ordered a dress from downeastbasics.com on christmas that took until friday to show up. she was a little mad when i showed her my scarves to say the least. hahaha :)


the new year has been good to me so far. i spent the count down to the new year talking to my friend-boy that i would really like to be my boyfriend but there are age requirements on my side that prohibit that until my 16th birthday. haha cant wait for that! im only 6 months away from it! the old year was not exactly. the day before new years eve i was supposed to babysit this adorable little girl from the neighborhood while her parents went to a bowl game in nashville. unfortunately i got sick an hour before the job started and was forced to pass it to my sister. ugh i was soo not happy about doing that. but i didnt want to take the chance of getting her sick as well. luckily after a long, needed nap i felt better and was able to help in laying the hardwood in kitchen addition.

thats right! you heard me right!! the boxes that have been stacked in the living room for about a year, have finally been ripped open and the glue/sealant has been bought and both have been ripped into as we have started applying hardwood to the entire downstairs. as of the moment we have successfully floored the kitchen and family room and have crossed our way into the entry way and our small hall closet. we are down to the bottom of our fifth! (yes 5th!!) 5-gallon bucket of sealant/glue and are going to have to scrap to finish whats left of the hallway. needless to say, my father will be purchasing about three more buckets at lumber liquidators in the next couple of days. we still have about 15 boxes left of hardwood to use in the dining and living rooms that my dad thinks we wont need. we will just see how far they get us. it officially looks like we are moving if you are to look in through the downstairs windows, and taking everything with us. we have evacuated every piece of furniture, accessories, and more into the garage, fruit room, mud room, and shop as possible in order to make the rooms scarce and easy to empty when we shift rooms. needless to say, the house is an udder pig stye as me, my mom and dad, and rachel work our tails off to finish as much as possible before my dad goes back to work tomorrow. but unfortunately, that wont work seeing how we are down to the bottom of the glue. we will have to resume work tomorrow.

in the mean time, im getting ready for school! i cant believe im saying this, but im getting tired of the break! all the house work and the mindless hours of sitting down doing nothing are killing me and i cant wait to have something productive and educational to do. that is my life!! as you can imagine with all the house work, my social life has been paused in order to help, so i cant wait to see all my friends again. yipee!!


umm new years resolutions.. earn so mula! be more loving and helpful; make a list of things i will need for college and work on the little things (sheets, a quilt, a scrapbook of memories, my own clothes [none of the sharing business anymore], a cookbook, and things like that); get another honor bee (i had my interview yesterday and im getting it presented next week! im ecstatic! i finished the book of mormon on friday); and maybe build up a library of books for the college life. who knows its all news to me!

thursday begins the new semester for school and i will go into honors chemistry, lifetime wellness, accounting one, and concert band. wellness is like health and gym combined, so its pretty much a joke. and chemistry is going to be interesting, but seeing how i had algebra two last semester its supposed to be easier. (hopefully!!!)